Bridgestone

Stakeholder engagement
Bridgestone discloses how often and through which channels it engages with various stakeholder groups.

Water
Bridgestone has a commitment to respect the right to water, and requires access to water and sanitation, including refraining from negatively affecting access to safe water, to be included in contractual arrangements with its business relationships.

Solid and air pollution
Bridgestone reports some activities to reduce plastic use and waste in its own operations, such as committing to reduce the use of single-use plastics as one of the key actions of its Milestone 2030 strategy. It is also working to reduce emissions of sulphur oxides (SOx) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) at its manufacturing facilities by 2030.

Indigenous Peoples’ and land rights
Bridgestone is committed to respecting Indigenous Peoples’ rights, discloses its processes for identifying and recognising the rights of Indigenous Peoples when activities in its own operations may impact their rights, and describes how it obtains Indigenous Peoples’ free, prior and informed consent. It also requires its business relationships to identify and recognise affected Indigenous Peoples and to obtain their free, prior and informed consent regarding whether and how to carry out projects. In terms of land rights, the company is committed to respecting ownership and use of land and natural resources and related legitimate tenure rights. It also requires its business relationships to have a process for identifying legitimate tenure rightsholders, paying particular attention to vulnerable or marginalised tenure rightsholders, and negotiating with them to provide adequate compensation.

Sustainability strategy and accountability
Bridgestone discloses its process for identifying and prioritising its most relevant sustainability impacts as well as the outcome of this process, in relation to its sustainability strategy. However, it is still missing group-wide targets for key sustainability topics for the most material parts of its value chain. While Bridgestone has recently defined several targets for 2030, it is encouraged to provide the base year for these targets as well as to report on them consistently. Regarding accountability, Bridgestone has not yet linked performance criteria in senior executives’ remuneration policies to targets and objectives which cover nature, including biodiversity, and social issues, nor does it disclose whether its highest governance body has expertise regarding nature-related topics.

Stakeholder engagement
Bridgestone has an opportunity to disclose an overview of the issues raised during its stakeholder engagement activities.

Lobbying
Bridgestone is encouraged to report on its lobbying and advocacy practices on nature-related issues, and whether these align with its sustainability strategy.

Impact and dependencies assessment
Bridgestone has an opportunity to assess its nature-related impacts and dependencies as well as those of its value chain.

Key areas and species
Bridgestone has an opportunity to improve its transparency by disclosing key species or areas important for biodiversity affected by its operations or suppliers.

Ecosystem conversion and restoration
While Bridgestone discloses having launched, with other global tyre companies, the Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR) to work towards more sustainable methods of sourcing rubber as its key high-risk commodity, the company is encouraged to specify how the GPSNR’s actions will be translated into eliminating land conversion from its value chain. While Bridgestone is committed to minimising ecosystem conversion, and shows qualitative evidence of minimising conversion through its participation in the GPSNR, it should work towards avoiding its impact. Lastly, Bridgestone commits to restoring ecosystems where it operates, yet it has not disclosed details and outcomes of ecosystem restoration projects in areas affected by its own operations or by its suppliers.

Resource exploitation and circularity
Bridgestone discloses some information related to its inputs and material footprint, but details regarding the use of different raw materials are missing. Furthermore, while the company discloses the ratio of recycled and renewable material as well as its resource monetary productivity, it does not report quantitatively on its group-wide circularity performance (e.g. circular material productivity). Regarding soil health, Bridgestone should work towards setting a target to improve soil health in its production or sourcing practices.

Water
In relation to water withdrawal, Bridgestone reports on the amount of water withdrawn from water-stressed areas. However, it does not disclose a time-bound target to reduce water withdrawal across its own operations, nor engages with suppliers to reduce water withdrawal. Regarding water pollution, Bridgestone is encouraged to set targets to reduce water pollution, and to define and disclose its processes for managing and monitoring discharge water quality. Lastly, while Bridgestone has identified specific risks to the right of water, it has an opportunity to disclose details of preventive or corrective action plans.

Solid and air pollution
Bridgestone does not report on the amount of plastic waste generated and proportions directed from or to disposal. Nor does it provide evidence of reducing the production of hazardous waste, plastic use and waste in its own operations.

GHG emissions
Bridgestone should work towards aligning its scope 1 and 2 emissions target (50% reductions by 2039) with a 1.5-degree trajectory. It is also encouraged to set a reduction target for its scope 3 emissions that is aligned with a 1.5-degree trajectory.

Invasive species
While Bridgestone has not identified any activities that could lead to the introduction of IAS in its own operations, it is encouraged to expand this identification process so as to include its business relationships.

Safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment
Bridgestone has yet to explicitly commit to respecting local communities’ right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment or to zero tolerance for acts of violence, threats, intimidation or judicial harassment committed against land and environmental rights defenders.

Bridgestone describes the process for identifying its salient human rights risks and impacts in specific locations or activities covering its own operations, as well as the process for assessing these risks. However, no evidence was found that it has a global system to act on all its salient human rights issues. Bridgestone is encouraged to provide an example of the conclusions reached and actions taken or to be taken on at least one of its salient human rights issues as a result of assessment processes. While Bridgestone discloses the categories of stakeholders it engages with generally on sustainability issues, it is not clear if these stakeholders are those whose human rights have been or may be affected by its activities. Furthermore, no evidence could be found suggesting that the company provides examples of its engagement with stakeholders whose human rights have been or may be affected by its activities.

Bridgestone has a publicly available policy statement committing it to respect the health and safety of its own workers and expecting its suppliers to do the same. It has an opportunity to disclose a time-bound target for paying all workers a living wage or that it has achieved paying all workers a living wage, and to describe how it determines a living wage for the regions where it operates. Regarding freedom of association and collective bargaining, Bridgestone discloses the proportion of its total direct operations workforce covered by collective bargaining agreements. However, it is encouraged to work towards monitoring at the group level and to describe how it works to support the practices of its suppliers regarding collective bargaining.

Bridgestone states that it regards taxes as a cornerstone of its commitment to grow in a sustainable, socially responsible way and has introduced a global tax policy to employees responsible for corporate taxes with the intent to improve penetration throughout the organisation. Furthermore, it states that the policy will be used as a guide as it strengthens its governance, in line with society’s expectations of responsible companies. However, the policy is not available in the public domain. Bridgestone is taking steps to identify and address bribery and corruption, and it includes anti-bribery and anti-corruption clauses in its contracts with direct business relationships. The company is encouraged to disclose its approach to lobbying and political engagement in a public policy statement.